Another Natalie Top!

I decided I wanted to make myself something special for my birthday.  I had a piece of naniIro double gauze Mountain Views fabric that I got for about $6 a yard due to a small printing error, and I had been saving it for myself, so this seemed like just the thing!

I pulled the "it's my birthday" card and got my husband to take a break from work (he works from home) to snap some photos for me--unfortunately my camera battery AND backup battery were both dead!  So iPhone pics it is.

I love how subtle this print is.  From a distance, it looks like a basic off-white...

 but up close there are all of these lovely rolling shapes.

I played on the soft metallics in the print and used an antique gold for the button tabs, as well as the bias trim inside the collar and around the hem.  

I feel like the touches of gold dress it up just a bit, although the fabric and style is definitely casual.  I love the feel of double-gauze--it seems warm somehow in the winter, despite how airy it feels in the summer.  How does it do that?

Well, maybe not warm ENOUGH.

This pattern is the Natalie Top again, from Liola Patterns. I made a silky one before (which was just featured in this month's KnitPicks since the fabric was from Girl Charlee!), and just like that one I lengthened and curved the hem, so I needed the bias tape to finish the bottom.  This time I decided to leave out the front pleat, and I love the way the topstitching looks instead!  I was worried that the pleat would never lay flat in the double gauze.

I also adjusted the fit on the sleeves slightly--I needed to narrow them a bit between the armpit and elbow, but the bottom where they roll up was just right as long as I followed appropriate seam allowance guidelines!  Last time I made the rolled-up part just a bit too tight.

So, happy birthday to me!  I love wearing this top.  Now, back to work on the business--I've been ordering stuff wholesale willy-nilly, and working on the website, and I made business cards, and I even got my woven labels, so I'm ready to start making samples before I go check out manufacturers!  I'll try to post updates here as I make progress :)

Sleeveless Washi Dress with simple mods

I made another Washi Dress from Made by Rae's great pattern!  When I posted it on instagram for Me Made May, I got a few comments about the proportions so I thought I'd share the modifications I made to the pattern to get this shape.

The original Washi pattern has an empire waistline.  I like it sometimes, but depending on the fabric that I'm using that cut can have a maternity look on me, especially since I have a long torso.  So the main modification I made to the pattern was to add a little length to the bottom of the front bodice.  I also tinkered with the neckline a bit, which I will show you below.

By extending the bodice just a little bit, the seam hits in a very flattering place--just above my natural waistline.  At the fold, your bodice should be 1.5" longer than the pattern.  Since the pattern curves a bit, the outer edge (side seam) of the bodice will be 1.25" longer than the pattern--just follow the curve of the original pattern.  What I actually did was cut a size small, but with a size XL length, which adds the amount of length above.

Forgot to get any pictures of the back though!

You have to remember to add those inches to the back panel of the dress as well, and move your shirring on the back down slightly.  I started my shirring about 1/2 inch lower than in the original pattern, and added one extra line of shirring at the bottom so that the shirring ends at the same spot as the bodice seam in front.

You don't have to adjust the bust darts--it really is just a simple matter of adding that little bit of length to the bodice.  The shirring in the back gives it a lovely fit.  If you go much longer than I did though, the torso portion of the bodice will start to pull and wrinkle.  I tried with a less forgiving fabric--I got a wrinkled bodice whenever I sat down.  If you want an even lower waistline you will probably have to make additional adjustments to the pattern.

This particular fabric that I used is slightly crinkly, so it has a little bit of stretch.  I usually make a medium in the Washi dress, using the same bodice adjustments described above, but this time I made a small to allow for the stretch.  I find it really comfortable and flattering--if you can find a woven with a bit of stretch, it works well to size down for a more fitted look!

A closer look at the fabric--another one of my 100-yen-per meter finds in Tokyo,
meaning this dress cost me about $2 to make.

For the neckline on this dress, I used the pattern neckline as a guide but cut it a bit lower and wider.  The depth of my neckline went right to the line of the signature "U" cutout in the Washi neckline, and then I curved it out beyond the pattern neckline but made sure the shoulder straps stayed the same width.  Here's a picture of how my adjusted neckline (the blue line) looks compared to the original pattern:

There you have it!  Hopefully these adjustments will give you some more options with the Washi!

Split-Yoke Ruby Top!

I made another Ruby Top that I adapted from Made By Rae's great pattern!  I used this fantastic Nani Iro Fuccra Rakuen double gauze (the same stuff I used on Little Sister's bubble dress), and added long sleeves so I could wear it right now.

I also linked this up to this week's Sew and Show over at Straight Grain ( --if you didn't already come from there, click that link and then click back to me (I'm #13)--the post with the most click-throughs wins!

This is the fourth version of the Ruby Top that I have made, including one straightforward sleeveless one, a sleeveless dress version with a lined bodice, and another long-sleeved double-gauze top.  I love the comfort of the Ruby, but I feel like a lower neckline is more flattering on me.  When I made the other long-sleeved top, I just cut a deeper scoop for the neck, and I really liked it.  But this time I wanted to try something different.

Did I mention it has pockets?

I kind of feel like a crazy person in this outfit, but in a good way.  So colorful!

It was really simple to open up the neckline by adding a split yoke.  I tacked my flaps down so that it would stay open, but that's entirely optional.  Here's how I did it, and kept a nice finish on the inside too!  And by the way, this would work on any top that has a yoke, although if you are using a knit you would probably want to add some sort of stabilizer.

I started out by cutting out my pieces according to Rae's video tutorial about making a lined yoke for the Ruby.  Pretty much, these are the directions you are going to follow with a slight adjustment for the split yoke.

-You will cut out 4 yoke pieces instead of 2--a front and a back from your outer fabric, and a front and a back from your lining.  One extra step--press the front pieces (outer and lining) in half so you have a nice crisp fold line right in the middle.  OH, and I almost forgot to tell you (because I actually forgot to do it)--it's a good time to press the bottom 3/8ths of an inch of the lining up, to make it easier to sew the lining down later.

-Just like in the tutorial, you will sew your outer pieces together at the shoulder then do the same for your lining pieces.  Then you will lay them out, right sides together, and prepare to sew them together around the neck opening.

-Here's where it's a little different--instead of sewing all the way around the neck, you are going to make a slit right in the center of the front piece, where you made that fold with your iron.

There's about an inch between the bottom of the stitch line and the bottom of the yoke.

I just sewed right next to the fold down one side and up the other.  Make sure to leave at least an inch to the bottom of your yoke so you have enough fabric to fold under to have a nice clean lining.

When you are cutting into the curves of the neckline, go ahead and cut right down the fold in the front center as well.  When you get about 1/2 inch from the bottom, cut two little angles towards the corners of your seam so that it will lay nicely when you turn it the right way.

Little snips at the bottom of the split yoke

Now, I added sleeves to mine, so I didn't finish the armholes at this point, but if you are making a sleeveless top you can follow Rae's tutorial on the lovely finished armholes that I linked to above.  If you are adding sleeves, this is when you would turn the yoke right side out and press it.

You can leave it like this, and it will flop open...

Or you can press and tack the flaps down, which is what I did.

Once everything is nicely pressed on the outside, you can attach the body of the top.  Then press the raw edges up under the bodice.  If you didn't press the bottom edge of the lining under earlier, do it now--that's what I had to do.

Then pull the bottom edge of the lining over the raw edges of your gathers, and hand-sew across the seam.  Such a nice finish on the inside!

I originally intended to make this more of a tunic length, so I put pockets into the side seams.  But when I put it on, it looked really unflattering, so I shortened it quite a bit.

Yay for pockets!

To keep the pockets from hanging out the bottom of the new shorter length (which is still a few inches longer than the pattern for the Ruby Top), I tucked my pockets inside my wide hem, then didn't hem across where the pockets were.  Don't know if that makes sense; maybe this picture will help?

I just hand-stitched the hem to the back part of the pockets so that I didn't sew the pockets closed.  Worked out well!

Here's how the back turned out:

And this was my test shot--it was cooooold out so I didn't want to lose the layers until I had to!  But I wanted to show you how this awesome jacket I got for Christmas makes every outfit look way cooler.

I love my jacket!

Now you're ready to go out on the town with Lady Gaga!

At the Tokyo Madame Tussaud's--we were visiting Legoland next door ;)

I do have a question though--I need a recommendation for a slimmish long sleeve pattern for wovens.  I have used the washi long-sleeve pattern, and it's wider than what I want, but I haven't been able to modify it to my liking.  I tried a different long sleeve from a Simplicity pattern I've never used before, but it came out way too small--you can probably see the wrinkling in the sleeves above, and this is after I'd altered it as much as I could!  I didn't have enough of the fabric to cut all new sleeves.  So anyway, if anyone out there has a woven long sleeve pattern to recommend, let me know!

Deer and Doe Plantain Tee

I made myself a tee from the free Plantain Tee pattern from Deer and Doe.  I'm so happy with how the prints came together!  It's such a cheerful top.

The yellow and white stripe was another one of my 100 yen/meter (about $1/yard) finds, and it's a nice one.  It's soft but not too stretchy.  My top maybe came out a tiny bit small, but only because of this fabric--if I was using a more typically stretchy knit I would make the same size again.  Oh, and also because of the fabric I used (I think), I had a little trouble with my neckline binding.  I cut it on the bias to get a little more stretch out of it, but it came out too wide and wouldn't lay flat.  So I folded it over to the outside and topstitched it down, which worked great!  I am actually very pleased with the final result on the neckline.

Whoo, stripe matching!

For the accent panels, I used bits and pieces of the Melody Miller Ruby Star Spring 2012 that I found for 380 yen/meter (less than $4/yard).  This fabric has a bunch of different prints incorporated into it, so it was fun to figure out which pieces I wanted to use.

It's on sale at fabricworm.com for only $5.50/yard! Here's the link!

I cut up one strip that featured the floral and made that into the elbow patches and the shoulder panels (I added those; they are not part of the original pattern), and I used a different part to make the back yoke (also my addition to the pattern).

I have long arms, so my elbow patches ended up hitting just a bit high. When I tug the sleeves all the way down, my elbow barely hits the bottom of the patch.  So when I make this pattern again, I'll lower my elbow patches by about 2 inches I think.  I also added about 4 inches to the length, because I like long tops.  Partially because I have a long torso, but I also just feel more comfy in my skinny jeans if my top covers up a bit more!

To give a better idea of the length

I love the way the pattern looks with the woven fabric accents!  When adding in the wovens, it's definitely good to err on the side of caution in terms of size--the wovens won't stretch, so it's good to have a little extra room in there for the armpits and shoulders.  Next time, I will cut my woven back yoke a size or two larger than the size I am cutting for the t-shirt. I also made sure to leave a little extra seam allowance where I would be attaching the wovens.

The shape of this tee is great--it's fitted in the bust but has a slight a-line, so it feels comfy and casual without looking sloppy.   There are three sleeve options too--short, 3/4 (what I sewed), and long.  I definitely need more of these in my fall wardrobe!

Denim Challenge--Fall Style for the Boy

OK!  Selfish Sewing Week is over, and it's time to get back to Project Run and Play and sewing for my kids!  This week's challenge was denim, which means it's The Boy's turn to get an outfit (since Little Sister will not wear anything made of denim, no matter how cute and feminine I make it).

I struggled with this week a little, since The Boy has a school uniform this year and therefore needs far fewer clothes to get him through the season.  But when I found this cool denim (in--you guessed it--Nippori, Tokyo's Fabric Town), I got inspired to make him a fun fall outfit to wear on the weekends.

He even had denim shoes!

 I can totally picture him wearing this on a crisp walk in the country when we are traveling around Japan this fall.

The brown denim caught my attention because in addition to having a slight stretch, it also had a really soft, brushed interior.

Can you tell it's fuzzy from this picture?

I hadn't seen this type of denim before, and it seemed to me like it would give some extra warmth without adding the bulk of a lining.  I started with the unisex Hosh Pants pattern from LouBee Clothing, but sized it up since he's already out of the size 6.  I also widened the leg slightly (more than the upsizing would have been), and opted for a knit casing for an elastic waistband rather than the button-tab elastic.  Oh, and I added a faux fly, using this tutorial from Melly Sews.

I love the fit!

One final touch on the jeans--I freehanded a loose "LJ" on the back pockets--The Boy's first and middle initials ;)   He loves that!

And I lined the pockets with the same fabric I used on his shawl collar, even though it's pretty much impossible to see.

His shirt is not made of denim, but this variegated blue knit had a denim feel for me.  And the woven print I used for the collar also has a denim-like variation in the solid background color that it's hard to capture on film, so you'll just have to take my word for it.

Let's just pretend the print on the collar isn't upside down.

 I used the free Scrubby Jams top pattern from Sewing Mama RaeAnna as a jumping off point for this shirt, but cut it narrower since I was using knit, and made some adjustments to the top pieces and the binding to get this shawl collar effect.

The collar is hand-tacked in several places so it looks just casually folded over but in reality it's not going anywhere.  And I did a rolled hem on the sleeves--I was planning on adding a cuff, but they were exactly the right length and the fabric rolled nicely, so I just tacked that in place too.  I can always add a cuff later when his arms get too long for it!

Both fabrics cost less than $1 per yard. I just want to buy all the fabrics.

 I like taking the denim blue colors and textures but mixing it with actual denim in a different color, avoiding the Texas Tuxedo look.

The final touch was the cap, which I made out of an old jean skirt of mine using this free sunhat pattern from Lusa Organics.  I made the brim smaller, and since the denim was a little thicker than the cottons shown in the tutorial I thought I could get away with a double layer of interfacing on the brim since I didn't have any hat brim insert material.

The seams were from the skirt I cut up--I couldn't avoid them, so I placed them front and center.

 It seems to have worked!

The hat lining is the same knit I used on the shirt.

And bonus--the hat fits me too!  We might have to share!

And it just wouldn't be a photo shoot with my boy if there wasn't a pic of him airborne, so here you go!